Obama to Afghanistan: Surprise!

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The White House press room had a low, persistent buzz this morning: Where was the president? His schedule had him down for meetings and remarks on the unemployment numbers. And yet, there was no Marine guard outside of the West Wing. Sick day? No. Surprise trip to Afghanistan!

While we all wait for the White House to confirm, ABC News broke the story:

Obama's surprise trip comes as fallout continues from the release of Wikileaks reports that documented rampant bribery in the war-torn country.

This is Obama's third trip to the country and his second as president.

Obama reportedly left last night. Unclear how long he plans to stay -- last time, he was there for six hours. The White House has had nothing to say, but TV already has pictures of a speech set-up at Bagram Airfield, where Obama is expected to appear.

Considering the dismal jobs figures, speculation was strong around the press room this morning that the administration would find some kind of diversion to take the focus off the economy. Mission accomplished?